Yonatan Gal presents five of the greatest moments of the moon in the movies

The camera really loves the moon: You may have watched a live broadcast of a football game at night, when the action on the field really isn’t worth the watch, and one of the cameramen prefers to focus on the moon, floating high above the stadium (and truthfully, it looks beautiful). We also know that the moon has captured the imagination of people since the dawn of mankind – in science, religion, literature and art. That’s why it’s no surprise that the cinema, from its very inception over a hundred years ago to this very day – keeps going back to the moon, and succeeds in producing blockbusters and unforgettable films.

In this list and the following ones I will present to you, in a completely random order, five movies I really love, which represent the unique cinematic attraction of the moon. At this stage we won’t discuss movies with the moon as a metaphor (such as “Twilight 2: New Moon”) or a romantic source of inspiration (like the wonderful “Moonstruck”, starring Cher and Nicolas Cage); we’ll hold off for a moment also with the critically acclaimed, Academy Award winning movie “Moonlight” (Barry Jenkins, 2016). Instead, this time will focus on the moon as a location – a physical place of action, a real place where heroes go on crazy adventures and anything can happen… So, here we go – get ready for lift off:

A Trip to the Moon (1902). Director: Georges Méliès

Let’s start from the beginning: This is the first sci-fi movie in history. It’s so old that it’s defined as a “silent movie”, because at that time movies had no sound. Georges Méliès was a magician performing in Paris theatres at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. He is considered one of the pioneers of motion pictures, and when he wrote and directed this short film (only 14 minutes, in which the heroes manage to land on the moon, finish off some aliens and return home) he used his experience as an illusionist to create the world’s very first “special effects”!

The film was shot in black and white. The color we see here is the result of grueling handy work done by dozens of artists, who sat in a laboratory in Paris and used paintbrushes (!) to paint each and every frame of the film to reach the desired effect.

Moon (2009) Director: Duncan Jones

We’ve leapt one hundred years forward, and it’s amazing to see how much the movie world and science have progressed: Now we have vehicles suited to micro-gravity, space suits, robots with a personality and effects that look completely realistic. To me, “Moon” is the coolest and most special film in this list, because it truly gives you the feeling of loneliness and isolation being so far away from home, that the astronaut feels (played by Sam Rockwell), stranded on the moon; But… Little by little it turns out, he’s not alone up there! (Yes, this movie is a bit scary – here’s the trailer, so you can decide for yourself if you can handle it.)

A bit of trivia: The filmmaker is Duncan Jones, whose father is the great singer David Bowie. His dad has a huge hit song about “Major Tom”, an astronaut who flies into space and can never come back. In short, the asteroid doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Despicable Me (2010) Director: Pierre Coffin.

Everybody knows this one, right? This is the movie that gave us the minions! The first film in this series of animation studio “Illumination” tells the tale of Gru, a super-villain, the most evil of evil masterminds (but with a heart of gold). His big dream is to steal the moon. And the minions are there to help him… Sort of.

Here is Gru, shrinking the moon:

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) Director: Jay Roach

Speaking of an evil mastermind and his tiny minions, do you remember Dr. Evil and Mini-Me? Here is a crazy-silly comedy, that mostly makes fun of the ridiculous old James Bond movies. Talented comedian Mike Myers wrote the script and stars in the film – both as the hero, international naughty spy Austin Powers; and as the infamous Dr. Evil, who has taken over the moon and built an enormous “Laser” canon…

Here’s Austin and Mini-Me facing off on the moon:

Don’t try to find any scientific logic in this one – like we said, it’s a very silly (and very funny!) comedy, but if you’re interested in the sources of inspiration for the film, look for “Diamonds are Forever” (1971) that shows how you can fake a landing on the moon; and “Moonraker” (1979) that included a completely bogus adventure in space, both of the James Bond franchise. Both of them are very “serious” movies, not a parody.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Director: Stanley Kubrick

Well, this one is the best of the best, a timeless masterpiece, that is considered the pinnacle of the sci-fi genre. Honestly, it’s a little difficult to describe this movie – you just need to see it. Two and a half hours of a stunning visual, mental and spiritual experience… There’s not much there in terms of plot, but there’s a lot of philosophy and creativity. Genius director Stanley Kubrick shot the motion of the spaceships as if it were classical ballet, and one of the pivotal moments of the film is when the heroes reach the moon base to examine a mysterious discovery:

The moon landing:

Here’s something to think about: In the minds of the filmmakers, Kubrick and author Arthur C. Clarke, 2001 seemed like a distant fantasy, an imaginary year from a completely different era. Today we’ve left that year far behind us, but there’s still no moon-base, no flights to Jupiter, no computer like HAL 9000… Could it be that humanity is a bit stuck?

And on this classical note, we’ll end our review. There’s a plethora of movies I’d love to share with you – Moon Kids.

So I’ll keep sharing with you, and you’re welcome to follow me here on “The Moon at the Movies” in “The Moon Show” section.

Don’t forget to test yourselves to find out if any of this stayed in your head by taking the test below – or whether your just wasted some time of your beautiful life

To see five more movies starring the moon in Yonatan Gal’s second column – click here

Things I learned from Yonatan Gal – the five big moments of the moon at the movies

Which of the following movies is from the silent movie era (in the days before the film world as we know it today?

A Space Odyssey

Despicable Me

Moon

A Trip to the Moon

Correct!Wrong!

What was the occupation of the director of the silent film?

Teacher

Driver

Painter

Magician

Correct!Wrong!

Which movie depicts an astronaut stranded on the moon?

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Moon

A Trip to the Moon

A Space Odyssey

Correct!Wrong!

In which year was A Space Odyssey screened in movie theatres?

1902

1968

1999

2001

Correct!Wrong!

According to Yonatan Gal: What does a bored cameraman do in a boring football game?

Takes a selfie

Shows the grass

Shows the other cameraman

Shows the moon

Correct!Wrong!

Things I learned from Yonatan Gal - the five big moments of the moon at the movies

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When he was a child, Yonatan dreamt of being an astronaut, but something went wrong along the way and he found himself serving in the army at Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio), as an editor and broadcaster of culture shows. Later he studied screenwriting at Sam Spiegel Film & Television School in Jerusalem. Nowadays, Yonatan is the “movie man” – he recommends new content in the description window of HOT VOD (cable television), he edits the news of the movie industry for the show “Shover Kupot” (“Blockbuster”) on YES cable channel for Israeli films, and he presents the movie review show on Tel Aviv Radio station 102FM. He also teaches film and media at the IDC (Interdisciplinary Center) Herzliya, and has been a staff member at the entertainment show “Erev Tov Im Guy Pines” (“Good Evening with Guy Pines”) for over a decade. There have been some rumors that he’s the voice behind the animated character “Hamevaker” (“The Critic”), but there’s been no official confirmation as of yet. Yonatan is still waiting to fulfill the promise he read in Bazooka Joe’s comic strip to go to the moon – even though it’s been a long time since he was 21. Father to Shaul and Ruth, married to Einat, lives at Givat Nili.